Crunch owner Howard Dolgon said AHL owners will vote to approve the 2007-08 schedule on Friday. The official schedule should be released either Friday or Monday.

Dolgon said it's likely that Syracuse will open with three games on the road, then start at home on Saturday, Oct. 13.

He also said the playoff format will be voted upon, too. The challenge in the Western Conference is that Syracuse's North Division has seven teams while the West Division has eight. So there will likely be some kind of crossover format again.

In other news, single-game ticket prices are going up $1 this season. And ribbon lighting is expected to be installed in the War Memorial by the end of this month. That will be the main building improvement this season. A new scoreboard and some new seats will be put in during 2008-09, Dolgon said.